Thursday

Nov 8, 2018 at 12:15 PMNov 8, 2018 at 12:15 PM

Ezra Miller hasn’t yet hit Hollywood’s A-list, though that achievement could come with his upcoming starring role as The Flash in “Flashpoint,” which is scheduled to start filming next year. Meanwhile, Miller, 26, has been building a formidable résumé of character roles, and making some indelible marks on anyone watching him, from his wiseguy performance playing the son of Andy Garcia’s character in “City Island” (2009) to his searing portrayal of a very troubled teen in “We Need to Talk About Kevin” (2011) and his funny Flash cameos in “Suicide Squad” and “Justice League.” His first appearance as the mysterious, brooding wizard Credence Barebone a couple of years ago in “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” has led to an extreme change in the same character in “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald.” But that shouldn’t be a surprise to Miller’s fans, as he appears to enjoy keeping things moving and changing. When he’s not making films, he’s touring and recording with his pop band Sons of an Illustrious Father. When he sits down to chat with the press, as he did last week in Los Angeles, he jumps between being loud, brash, opinionated and funny. It’s also clear that he’s proud of his accomplishments and is ever-ready to give kudos to those who work alongside him. Sure, some of his answers didn’t make complete sense, but he’s a force to reckon with, it was definitely an enjoyable experience to share a conversation with him.

Q: The Credence in this sequel is very different from the Credence in the first film. He comes across as stronger and more secure now, when before, he couldn’t look anyone in the eye. Was that all in the script or was there a lot of your own input?A: Zero of it is mine. I mean, I can’t just go ahead and improvise everything. This is J.K. freaking Rowling! But sometimes on the day, (director David Yates) would be really interested in feeling out the patterns of a scene, and if (the actors) felt collectively that something might work better a slightly different way, we’d come to that decision in a very collaborative non-hierarchical process. It’s really an open field, and David put aside a lot of time to cater to all of our various idiosyncrasies. There are times when he allowed the space for everyone to talk through what they felt, and there were lots of times where together we’d change the fabric or the context of a scene. It’s amazing that Jo (Rowling) and David trusted us to do that.

Q: Was it fun or more of a challenge to revisit the character?A: I think I have a lot of different personalities that I enjoy occupying at different times. It’s good to remain a bit fluid with these things. I think people who “know who they are” are super creepy.

Q: You have a lot of scenes in the film working together with Claudia Kim, who plays the supernatural character Nagini, who Harry Potter fans know as Lord Voldemort’s gigantic snake. Did you two have the luxury of planning out how you would do the parts before filming began?A: We were given a lot of free reign. The two of us did a lot of work, and we put in a lot of time. At first, I was the aggressor. I chased Claudia down so we could build our own backstory. I’d say to her, “We really need to hang out. I need to take you to some pagan gatherings. We should have at least two meals together a week. I’m gonna call you on Friday, and if you’re not too tired, you’ll come over and stay up all night with me at the solstice sacrifice and it’s gonna be rad and you’re gonna learn a lot about it.” But eventually I felt that ultimately it was mutual.

Q: At this point in your career, is it more important for you to be an actor or a musician?A: I love the soundtrack in the film. I thought they did an incredible job. You know, before we had dialogue in cinema, we had music. Before we even had words as a species, we were (he bangs his hands rhythmically on the table) ...

Q: What’s the status of the band right now?A: Super-active. Sons of an Illustrious Father just finished an American tour, and will be doing a tour of Europe in December. And we’re working on our next album, which is also a game. And we are the eternal baddies. We will fight to the bitter end.

“Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald” opens on Nov. 16.— Ed Symkus writes about movies for More Content Now. He can be reached at esymkus@rcn.com.

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.

Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted.
Waynesboro Record Herald - Waynesboro, PA ~ 30 Walnut St. Waynesboro, PA 17268 ~ Privacy Policy ~ Terms Of Service